Case: A 40-year-old woman. Clinical diagnosis: Autistic disorder with mild mental retardation. Case report: The patient underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for the treatment of her pancreatic cancer. We held several conferences with individuals from different medical fields and examined the influence of the patient's autistic disorder on the perioperative conditions. The senior author, a clinical psychologist, conducted repeated individual, acceptive, and sympathetic interviews with the patient and her family and maintained supportive relationships with them as an honorary family member. Thus, the clinical psychologist helped reduce the patient's anxiety about the medical treatment. Conclusion: The participation of a clinical psychologist in the medical conferences enabled the medical staff to understand the complications involved and provide mental support to the patient and her family. Palliat Care Res 2010; 5(2): 323-326

A 40-year-old woman visited our emergency room (ER) with fever and shaking chills. Blood cultures for suspicion of urinary tract infection revealed bacteremia two days later. Since Streptococcus mitis was detected, infective endocarditis was strongly suspected. In addition to her history of dental calculus removal, careful cardiac auscultation revealed a continuous murmur, leading to the existence of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). PDA was confirmed by echocardiography and 3D-CT angiography. The patient was successfully treated by antibiotics and then received transcatheter PDA closure. Careful auscultation after detection of bacteremia led to a diagnosis of PDA.

The aim of this study was to clarify the comorbidities of patients with Leriche syndrome and ischemic heart disease. We enrolled 26 patients with Leriche syndrome and who had undergone preoperative coronary angiography were enrolled. The comorbidities of diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease developed in more than half of Leriche patients with Leriche syndrome. Marked coronary artery disease was diagnosed in 14 patients, 7 of whom underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. The Revascularization procedures performed in patients with Leriche syndrome were anatomical aortofemoral bypass in 15 and an extra-anatomical axillofemoral bypass in 9. In 2 cases of extra-anatomical bypass, occlusion developed in the long-term.

It has been demonstrated that atrial fibrillation (AF) frequently occurs after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and may cause cerebral infarction. The purpose of this research is to clarify the risk factors of AF in patients who underwent off-pump CABG (OPCABG). In this study, 142 patients (111 men and 31 women) were enrolled with an average age of 67 years old (range, 33-83). According to multivariate analysis, age and the preoperative peak early (E)/late (A) diastolic velocities ratio (E/A) were the independent predictors of postoperative AF. Patients who suffered from postoperative AF required a significantly longer hospital stay.

Objective: In urological operations, many endourological procedures and pre-existing urinary tract infections may cause surgical complications. It is essential to identify the risk factors for surgical site infections (SSI) and determine additional influences. Patients and Methods: In the present retrospective investigation, a total of 324 patients who underwent open urological surgery between January 2003 and December 2007 at Anjo-Kosei Hospital were assessed for SSI along with possible associated factors. Results: Forty-four cases (13.6%) proved positive for SSIs during the surveillance period. Among these, 31 demonstrated incisional SSI and 13 demonstrated deep/organ space SSI. Greater age and body mass index, low preoperative haemoglobin levels, long preoperative hospital stay, prolonged operation time and increased blood loss during surgery were all positively associated with SSI in general. For the deep/organ space SSI cases, advanced age, low preoperative haemoglobin levels, long preoperative hospital stay and prolonged operation time were significant factors. Conclusion: This study identified several independent predictors of SSI in general, as well as deep/organ space infection, for urological open surgery at our hospital. The results provided a basis for urologists to decrease the incidence of urological SSI.
Surgical aspects ; Hospitals ; Organ ; Infection as complication of medical care ; Risk Factors

Background/Aims: Vedolizumab (VDZ) is a gut-selective agent with a favorable safety profile. We aimed to assess the feasibility of elective switch from other advanced therapies to VDZ and subsequent live-attenuated vaccination while continuing VDZ in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Methods: We measured antibody titers specific for measles, rubella, mumps, and varicella viruses in IBD patients under immunosuppressive therapy. Those with negative titers and without vaccination history were judged unimmunized. Patients were administered vaccines while continuing VDZ or switched to VDZ if receiving other advanced therapies and then administered vaccines. Co-primary outcomes were the rate of maintaining disease severity after vaccination and the rate without vaccine-induced infection. Results: Among 107 unimmunized patients, 37 agreed to receive live-attenuated vaccines while continuing VDZ (17 patients) or after switching to VDZ (20 patients). In the 20 patients who electively switched to VDZ, disease severity was maintained except for 1 patient who developed intestinal infection. After 54 weeks, 18 patients (90%) continued to receive VDZ, excluding 2 patients who reverted to their originally administered biologics. In all 37 patients administered live-attenuated vaccines under VDZ treatment, disease severity was maintained after vaccination. Antibody titers became positive or equivocal in 34 patients (91.9%). There were no cases of vaccine-induced infection during a median observation period of 121 weeks. Conclusions While live-attenuated vaccines are contraindicated under immunosuppressive therapy, they may be safely administered while receiving VDZ immunotherapy. Switching from other advanced therapies to VDZ and subsequently receiving live-attenuated vaccines may be a safe alternative in unimmunized patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Few reports have described the long-term treatment outcomes of the anti-tumor necrosis factor-α antibody for Japanese Crohn’s disease (CD) patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate them and clarify the clinical factors that affect the long-term prognosis of the anti-tumor necrosis factor-α treatments. METHODS: This was a retrospective, observational, single-center cohort study. Japanese CD patients treated with either infliximab or adalimumab as a first-line therapy were analyzed. The cumulative retention rates of the biologics, relapse-free survival, and surgery-free survival were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier methods. The clinical factors associated with the long-term outcomes were estimated by both the log-rank test and Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: The cumulative retention rate was significantly higher in the group with a concomitant elemental diet of ≥900 kcal/day, baseline C-reactive protein (CRP) levels < 2.6 mg/dL, and baseline serum albumin levels ≥3.5 g/dL, respectively. The baseline serum albumin levels were also associated with both relapse-free and surgery-free survival. The lack of concomitant use of an elemental diet ≥900 kcal/day was identified as the only independent risk factor for the withdrawal of the biologics. CONCLUSIONS: Baseline CRP levels and serum albumin levels could affect the long-term outcomes in CD patients. Concomitant elemental diet of ≥900 kcal/day could have a positive influence on clinical treatment course.
Adalimumab ; Antibodies ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Biological Products ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cohort Studies ; Crohn Disease ; Food, Formulated ; Humans ; Infliximab ; Necrosis ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Serum Albumin

Background/Aims: Crosstalk between the gut microbiota and bile acid plays an important role in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal disorders. We investigated the relationship between microbial structure and bile acid metabolism in the ileal mucosa of Crohn’s disease (CD). Methods: Twelve non-CD controls and 38 CD patients in clinical remission were enrolled. Samples were collected from the distal ileum under balloon-assisted enteroscopy. Bile acid composition was analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results: The Shannon evenness index was significantly lower in endoscopically active lesions than in non-CD controls. β-Diversity, evaluated by the UniFrac metric, revealed a significant difference between the active lesions and non-CD controls (P=0.039). The relative abundance of Escherichia was significantly higher and that of Faecalibacterium and Roseburia was significantly lower in CD samples than in non-CD controls. The increased abundance of Escherichia was more prominent in active lesions than in inactive lesions. The proportion of conjugated bile acids was significantly higher in CD patients than in non-CD controls, but there was no difference in the proportion of primary or secondary bile acids. The genera Escherichia and Lactobacillus were positively correlated with the proportion of conjugated bile acids. On the other hand, Roseburia, Intestinibacter, and Faecalibacterium were negatively correlated with the proportion of conjugated bile acids. Conclusions Mucosa-associated dysbiosis and the alteration of bile acid composition were identified in the ileum of CD patients. These may play a role in the pathophysiology of ileal lesions in CD patients.

Background/Aims: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) was recently proposed as an alternative disease concept to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to investigate the prognosis of patients with biopsy-confirmed MASLD using data from a multicenter study. Methods: This was a sub-analysis of the Clinical Outcome Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (CLIONE) study that included 1,398 patients with NAFLD. Liver biopsy specimens were pathologically diagnosed and histologically scored using the NASH Clinical Research Network system, the FLIP algorithm, and the SAF score. Patients who met at least one cardiometabolic criterion were diagnosed with MASLD. Results: Approximately 99% of cases (n=1,381) were classified as MASLD. Patients with no cardiometabolic risk (n=17) had a significantly lower BMI than patients with MASLD (20.9 kg/m2 vs. 28.0 kg/m2, P<0.001), in addition to significantly lower levels of inflammation, ballooning, NAFLD activity score, and fibrosis stage based on liver histology. These 17 patients had a median follow-up of 5.9 years, equivalent to 115 person-years, with no deaths, liver-related events, cardiovascular events, or extrahepatic cancers. The results showed that the prognosis for pure MASLD was similar to that for the original CLIONE cohort, with 47 deaths and one patient who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation. The leading cause of death was extrahepatic cancer (n=10), while the leading causes of liver-related death were liver failure (n=9), hepatocellular carcinoma (n=8), and cholangiocarcinoma (n=4). Conclusions Approximately 99% of NAFLD cases were considered MASLD based on the 2023 liver disease nomenclature. The NAFLD-only group, which is not encompassed by MASLD, had a relatively mild histopathologic severity and a favorable prognosis. Consequently, the prognosis of MASLD is similar to that previously reported for NAFLD.

A standard modality for prostate cancer detection in men 75 years and older has not been established. A simple screening method for elderly patients is needed to avoid unnecessary biopsies and to effectively diagnose prostate cancer. A retrospective study was conducted on elderly patients who had prostate biopsy at Kanazawa University Hospital (Kanazawa, Japan) between 2000 and 2017. Of the 2251 patients who underwent prostate biopsy, 254 had clinically significant prostate cancer (CSPC) with a Gleason score (GS) of≥7 and 273 had a GS of <7 or no malignancy. In this study, patients aged 75 years or older were classified as elderly patients. GS ≥ 7 was characterized by a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) of the maximum area under the curve of 12 ng ml